Kurai
by lamplord
Summary: AU where everyone are vampires. IchiRuki and UlquiHime. ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

Kurai 1

"Rukia…" Ichigo Kurosaki whispered in her ear, leaning over from his side of the bed and resting his chin on his beautiful mate's shoulder. "Wakey wakey…"

Rukia Kuchiki let out a gentle sigh and opened her deep, dark eyes. She looked over at Ichigo without moving her head and murmured, "Do we have to go to school today?"

"Yes~"

"…My stomach hurts."

"You're just thirsty. Come on, get up." Ichigo rolled back over and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Rukia groaned and wiggled over to him, placing her head on his lap. "I'm feeling lazy. Can we have breakfast in bed?"

Ichigo sighed and pulled her up onto his lap completely. Rukia rested her head against his shoulder as her wrapped his strong arms around her tiny frame.

"Only a little," Ichigo said, not feeling like arguing.

A slow smile flitted across Rukia's face and she raised her head, letting her lips brush against Ichigo's skin… she opened her mouth a little more, inhaling his smell, then she bit down, letting her fangs slide in easily to the familiar neck…

Ichigo closed his eyes… the bite didn't hurt, it never did, but he felt the familiar dizzy feeling.

"…Rukia."

The small vampire pulled away, but kept her face pushed against where his neck met his shoulder.

"Come on, we'll be late."

"…hm…"

"And you'll just have to stay there longer when we get detention."

Rukia tilted her head enough to look at Ichigo out of the corner of her eye, and then she slid off his lap and walked over to the dresser.

Ichigo watched her… no matter how long they were together (and it was going on 29 years now) he still loved the way she walked. It was graceful, like she was dancing, and captured the essence of nobility she carried so proudly. He remembered it was her walk that first made her catch his eye.

It had been at a gathering of the highest-ranking nobles. The Kuchikis were special quests. Byakuya, the head, and his little sister were well known throughout the Blood Society, so it was a serious privilege when Ichigo had been invited.

There, he saw her talking to another noble, but then she had gotten irritated and walked away, right into Ichigo, then they started talking…

"Ichigo, if I have to get up you do too!"

Ichigo jumped and then got up. He smiled at the lingering memory, and then pushed it out of his mind as he got out his school uniform.

-X-

"Orihime, are you ready now?"

"Yep!"

Orihime bounced down the steps of the house, wearing a light coat. She grinned at Ulquiorra, who wore a black hoodie and gray-and-lighter-gray striped scarf, and then pecked him on the cheek as she took her schoolbag out of his hands. The raven-haired vampire blushed (as he always did) slightly before turning to the door.

"Let's go, then," he said.

Orihime laughed, her gray eyes not missing the look on her mate's face, but she didn't say anything.

The two walked out of the house and started down the street to their bus stop. It was 6:32 in the morning, but the sky was already periwinkle blue and robins had already begun their songs.

"Oh! There's Ichigo and Rukia!" Orihime waved at the two figures walking towards them. Ulquiorra couldn't tell that was who they were, but Orihime's vision was superior even by vampire standards, so he waved too.

The two couples exchanged quick greetings as they met in the middle, at their bus stop.

"Hey, Ichigo! Wow Rukia you look more tired than usual, have you been sleeping ok? Has Ichigo been keeping you up?" Orihime said cheerily.

Rukia laughed. "Yeah, he's been keeping me up…" she looked up at him slyly, making the orange-haired vampire flush.

"RUKIA! I didn't mean it like that! He's just such a night owl—"

"Orihime, I think we should just change the subject," Ulquiorra interrupted quietly.

The blonde sighed. "Yeah…"

"Nice going, Rukia," Ichigo hissed at the short vampire.

"What, I did not know that was not what she meant…" Rukia said with a yawn. "Sorry, 'Hime"

"Oh, it's ok," Orihime laughed as the bus pulled up. Her and Ulquiorra got on first, with the already-bickering Ichigo and Rukia following.

Since the four were seniors, they plopped down into the back seats. Ulquiorra took the window, so Orihime could easily chat with the other students. Ichigo sat down in him and Rukia's seat first, pulling his mate over his lap so she sat with her back against the window and her legs draped over Ichigo's.

"So, I was thinking, we should get together sometime! Like a double date, or we could hang out at me and Ulqui's and invite Toshiro and Uryu!" Orihime continued excitedly.

Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra. "You let her call you 'Ulqui'? Really?"

The raven-haired man shrugged.

"Man you're whipped."

"Weeeeell~?" Whatdaya guys think?"

"That'd be nice, I'd go. Rukia?"

"Sure…"

"Then it's settled! I'll talk to 'Shiro!"

The bus ride continued with small talk. Eventually the two couples ceased to talk with each other, since Rukia wasn't really even in the conversation, and instead spoke quietly to their mates. Or, in Rukia and Ichigo's case, murmured in between gentle kisses.

When they arrived at school, they didn't waste any time talking to people outside- it was quite chilly, and even though they didn't get cold, people would notice that they weren't shivering- and headed right to their classroom.

The class, when all had arrived and the teacher was finished with morning announcements, settled down for the lesson. It droned on, until, finally, the lunch bell rang.

"Well, that was boring," Rukia yawned.

"Of course," Toshiro Hitsugaya agreed, walking up behind the dark-haired vampire and her mate. "I've learned that lesson about 9 times already."

The three met Ulquiorra and Orihime on the roof. They carefully sat in the shade, away from the burning rays of sun.

Rukia quietly pulled out a book and settled on Ichigo's lap. Orihime leaned against Ulquiorra's side, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Toshiro plopped down across from the two couples. Behind him, three female juniors stared in awe. He turned and looked at them, making the girls blush. He smiled, and winked, then turned back around as they giggled and squealed.

Rukia, noticing what happened, looked up from her book. "Toshiro, why do you have to tease them?"

The white-haired vampire blinked. "Tease them? What, I might date one…"

"And then suck out as much blood you can before she dies, afterwards removing her memory that it ever happened, and then dump her by saying she 'is not the one.' You've done it the half the girls in town already."

"Well, at least I'm not lying," Toshiro said. "They aren't, just little snacks to hold me over till dinner."

"You are calling your future mate… dinner?" Rukia raised an eyebrow. "If I were 'the one,' I would be insulted."

"Well you're not, so don't worry 'bout it. You have Ichigo."

"Damn straight," the orange-haired vampire muttered.

"Oh, Toshiro, Ulqui and I wanted to know if you wanted to come over sometime. I asked Ichigo and Rukia about it, I just need to talk to Uryu," Orihime piped up.

"You let her call you 'Ulqui'?"

"That's what I said," Ichigo told Toshiro.

"It's so… cutesy."

"Like a dog's nickname."

"Oh, come on Ichigo, I call you Ichi at home!" Rukia suddenly added.

Ichigo blushed, his eyes widening.

"Oh, really now, Ichigo?" Toshiro raised his eyebrows.

"Can it, Shorty."


	2. Chapter 2

Kurai 2

Orihime sat at her desk next to Ulquiorra.

"Ichigo and Rukia are late," she commented.

Ulquiorra nodded quietly.

-X-

Rukia wiggled around, trying to get out of Ichigo's grip. She knew he was asleep, and simply thought he was 'cuddling,' but he had kept her up ALL NIGHT, and even though she technically didn't have to breathe, she did prefer to.

-X-

At last, Ichigo and Rukia walked in the door, just as the bell rang. Rukia was glaring irritably up at Ichigo while finger-combing her hair. He had his eyebrows stitched up moodily.

Orihime guessed Rukia had scolded him again. She did a lot- she was always very sensitive, and tended to get irritated over little things, but Ichigo always managed to talk her down.

"Good morning, Kurosaki and Kuchiki, it's a pleasure you made it," the teacher said sarcastically.

Ichigo threw her a quick smile, but Rukia ignored her, instead settling at her desk.

"Well, everyone, we have a new transfer student today!" The teacher slid the classroom door open. "Come on in."

The teen that entered was thin, with soft, wavy brown hair. He had glasses, and brown eyes.

"Everyone, this is Sosuke Aizen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Sosuke said politely.

Ichigo looked up at him. He could smell that this man was a vampire, but there was something else…

"You can sit there next to Kurosaki."

Sosuke walked slowly down the aisle and slid into his seat.

At once, Ichigo tensed. The stench rolling of the other vampire's skin… it was like a rotting body, tainted with the metallic smell of blood. It seemed to swirl around Ichigo, sapping life out of him…

At once, it was over.

Ichigo looked over at Toshiro, who was sitting on the other side of Aizen. He, too, seemed shocked. His blue-green eyes slid over and the two vampires' gazes met. A silent message passed between them.

This one would be a problem.

-X-

As the class got up for lunch break, Ichigo looked up to see Aizen standing next to him.

"It's nice to meet you, Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, smiling.

Ichigo stood, gave the other vampire a cold look, and then made his way to Rukia.

The dark-haired girl stretched and yawned. "Hey…"

The orange haired vampire gently pulled her up out of her seat. "Come on, I gotta talk to Toshiro."

"Okay, no need to be pushy…"

When the couple got up to the roof, Ichigo had resorted to carrying Rukia. He set her down next to Orihime. "Rukia's just gonna take a nap. Will you look out for her?"

Orihime blinked. "Uh… OK but-"

But Ichigo had already run across the roof to where Toshiro was leaning against the railing.

"About time you got here," the white-haired vampire muttered. His voice carried a tone to it that informed Ichigo that he was still freaked by the earlier event.

"Sorry. Rukia was tired. I had to carry her up here."

"OK then. So do you know this Aizen guy?"

"Not at all. I've never even heard of an Aizen family."

"Maybe they're not nobles?"

"Or he's the only one, just some kid who got turned."

Toshiro nodded and put his head down on his arms. "Whoever that guy is… I don't like 'em."

Ichigo nodded and shivered slightly. "I've got to go back to Rukia… I'll check the Blood Society database when I get home."

When Ichigo sat next to Rukia, she quietly leaned on his shoulder. "Anything I should know about?"

"I'll tell you when we get home."

-X-

That night, Ichigo slid into the computer chair, opening up the laptop he and Rukia shared. He quickly opened up the Blood Society database, a collection of files ranging from vampires' criminal records to reports on nobles' parties to deaths in the hidden community.

He logged in as himself, then typed "Aizen, Sosuke" into the search bar.

A few records listed themselves on the screen. He scanned the titles until one caught his eye.

"Mysterious Murders in the Society, Five Vampires and Nine Humans Dead."

Ichigo clicked on it.

"You are not authorized to view this file."

'What?' he thought. 'I'm a noble, I should have clearance for this… it must be really hush-hush.'

"Hey Rukia, will you log into the Blood Society for me?" he asked, logging out. His mate was the younger sister of the head of one of the top four noble families- she should be able to see it.

The vampire walked out of the bathroom, her hands busy trying to dry her dark hair. "Why?"

"Apparently, I don't have clearance to see something."

Rukia draped the towel over her arm and peeked over Ichigo's shoulder. She moused to the top of the page to see what he was searching.

"Why are you searching about Sosuke? He seemed fine."

"Did you smell him? He smelled like rotting flesh, like death…"

"We're vampires, Ichigo, we kill people."

"But we don't smell like gore."

Rukia sighed. "We have showers. He was probably traveling, and didn't have access to anything like that."

Ichigo shook his head. "You didn't next to him, Rukia. You don't know what I mean."

The vampire straightened and crossed her arms, her mouth pulling into a frown and her eyes narrowing. "So because I didn't smell anything, I couldn't possibly understand at all?"

"That's not what I mean-"

Rukia just closed her eyes and shook her head before leaning over and typing in her name, last the first, and her password. But her keystrokes were quick and angry, telling Ichigo that his little mate was very irritated.

"There," she muttered, straightening again and walking towards the bed.

"Rukia, why are you so irritated over this?" Ichigo leaned back and looked at her.

"Because, Ichigo," she leaned on the soft, dark red sheets and looked at him somewhat coldly. "I thought he was a nice guy. While you were talking with Toshiro, he came over and we were chatting about blood types. He's very polite and kind."

"He talked to you? Why didn't you tell me?" Ichigo raised his voice, alarmed at the thought of that vampire's rotting bloodlust being anywhere near Rukia.

The skinny vampire jumped slightly. She wasn't used to Ichigo yelling. Whenever they fought, he had always been relaxed, very calmly stating his opinion and feelings while listening to her more heated own.

But… Now he was yelling… and Rukia did not know how to react to that.

So she did what she always did when she was confused, or hurt, or uncertain.

She lashed out.

"I didn't TELL YOU because it WASN'T OF YOU CONCERN!" she snapped back at him.

"None of my concern! Rukia, you're well being is my concern! You don't know what he'll do to you!"

"What, afraid he'll bite me? I can fight for myself!"

Ichigo stood up, dwarfing Rukia even at his distance. He paced forward and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders. When he spoke, his voice was softer, calmer. "Rukia, I'm just worried about you."

But Rukia was unaffected by his tender tone. She closed her eyes and shrugged out of his grip. Slipping under the covers of their bed and laying with her back to her mate, she simply muttered, "Goodnight, Ichigo."

"Rukia-"

"Goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

Kurai 3

Ichigo woke when his phone beeped. He sighed, and automatically looked down, expecting to see whether or not Rukia was awake, but she wasn't curled up in his arms like usual. He quickly sat up and looked around, panicking for just a few seconds before seeing her. She was wrapped up in a ball as close to the opposite edge of the bed, their under sheet tight around her shoulders.

The orange-haired vampire immediately remembered the events of the previous night. He felt like smacking himself- how could he yell at Rukia? He knew better than that. He knew that she hated being yelled at, even by teachers. He knew it used to make her cry... even though now she usually yelled back.

Suddenly his phone beeped again. He turned back around and snatched it off his dresser.

"New Message From: Toshiro"

Ichigo quickly opened it.

"We got a problem. Meet me at **Uxintakafe****," it read.**

**The vampire sighed. He had intended to wait until Rukia woke up to go anywhere, so they could make up as fast as possible, but if Toshiro thought something was problematic enough to text him, it was important.**

**Getting a sticky note from the desk, Ichigo scribbled down a quick note for Rukia saying that he was meeting up with Toshiro, he would be back as soon as he could, and that he loved her. He stuck it on her book, which she always kept on her nightstand, before darting out the door into the cool, early spring air.**

**When he arrived at Uxintakafe, there were police cars and other emergency vehicles clustered around the street next to it. A crowd had gathered, and at first, he couldn't find his friend.**

**Eventually, he spotted Toshiro. The short, white-haired vampire was leaning against a window, holding two coffees.**

**"****Hey," Ichigo said as he walked up.**

**Toshiro nodded and handed him one of the coffees. "Come on. You have to see this."**

**Ichigo followed him as he wove through the crowd. When they got to the front, Ichigo saw that yellow crime scene tape bordered the area around some dumpsters. **

**But what caught he eye was what was in front of the dumpsters.**

**A woman was laying there. Her neck and wrists were savagely ripped open, though for the severity of the wounds, there was little blood. **

**"****One of our kind did this?" Ichigo whispered.**

**"****You've been around a while, Ichigo, you know the signs." Toshiro looked at him through the top of his eyes. "Take a whiff."**

**Ichigo inhaled deeply. The stench of gore filled his lungs, but beneath it, he could smell the scent of a vampire...**

**"****It's familiar," Ichigo said in surprise.**

**"****Keep it down!"**

**"****Right, sorry."**

**"****And yes, it is familiar. I just can't place it."**

**"****Yeah, me neither..."**

**-X-**

Rukia rolled over and opened her eyes. She could already see that Ichigo wasn't there. She sniffed; he had been gone a little less than an hour.

She got up and stretched. She broke off mid-yawn when she noticed a bright yellow sticky note on her book. Taking it off, she read as she walked to the closet.

"I went to meet Toshiro at Uxintakafe. I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you much. –Ichigo"

Rukia frowned. She felt the familiar sting behind her eyes, and rubbed them, forcing back the tears she vowed never to cry. As she opened the closet doors to find something to wear, she crumpled up the note and dropped it in the trash.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurai 4

"Rukia, I'm home!" Ichigo entered his and Rukia's home, into the kitchen, where the front door was. He set down the contents of his hands on the table. One coffee with a teaspoon of sugar and 1/8 cup of cream, and a mocha cappuccino with whipped cream. The coffee was the one he had been carrying since Toshiro had given him. The cappuccino was for Rukia- Ichigo was going to try making up with the suck-up method first.

But he didn't hear an answer. Actually, he heard the faint sound of the TV on in the living room. Wandering into the other room, he spotted his slender mate dozed off on the couch. Ichigo remembered she had planned on watching a marathon of one of her favorite animes.

'So cute when she's sleeping...' he thought, sitting down on the edge of the cushion. He slowly reached over and stroked her hair.

Rukia jolted awake. "Ichigo?"

"The one and only."

She smiled and hugged him, but then recoiled. Right. They were supposed to be fighting.

"Still mad?"

Rukia looked down. "No. I shouldn't have yelled."

"Me neither," The orange-haired vampire admitted, hiding his surprise that Rukia actually admitted she was wrong.

"So... We're not fighting anymore?"

"I guess not."

She looked up. "But... you still don't like Sosuke."

Ichigo inwardly moaned. He wanted to avoid this, as he was not completely comfortable about his decision, but if he avoided if things would still be awkward with him and Rukia.

"Look, Ru, I can't very well explain why I don't like him. I probably never will, but if you would like to be friends with him, I have no right to stop you."

Rukia stared at him for a few seconds, and then said, "OK."

"And now, back to the show!" The TV interrupted the tense moment.

The black-haired vampire whipped around and faced the TV. Ichigo chuckled and got up to get their beverages. When he returned, Rukia cuddled against his side, and the two watched the show in content quiet,


End file.
